Pune Police relaunch 'Buddy Cop' and 'Police Kaka' initiatives for women and children
New Delhi, April 15
The Pune Police have revived their popular community police schemes ‘Buddy Cop’ and ‘Police Kaka-Police Didi’.
While Buddy Cop is designed for security of the women, the Police Kaka-Didi scheme is for safety and wellbeing of children.
The officials said officers and personnel from each police station are picked for the Buddy Cop scheme who work on the project dedicatedly.
Under the scheme, a nodal officer is appointed at each police station besides five to 15 constabulary staffers and officers who are assigned various tasks as part of the initiative. Each of these cops is made administrator of WhatsApp groups, which also have station duty officers and other senior officers as members, officials said.
Each group will have 100 to 150 women from various offices and institutions that come under the jurisdiction of the respective police stations. These teams will also establish contact with women who do not have access to smartphones or WhatsApp groups, officials said.
Officials said that the Buddy Cop will ensure round-the-clock responses to grievances of women and also sensitize them about the importance of filing complaints against people who misbehave with or harass them. In coordination with offices and institutions, the police will also organize sessions to sensitize employees on harassment women face in their homes as well as outside.
As part of the second scheme, each police station will assign duties to both male and female constabulary staffers who will be called Police Kaka (Uncle) and Police Didi (Elder sister). These personnel will coordinate with schools, colleges, coaching classes, sports and other training establishments and other institutions and organize sessions to create awareness among children on cases of bullying, ragging, cyber crime and sexual abuse.
This effort will also entail involvement of parents, teachers, school administration, child behaviour experts and NGOs along with police stations, officials said.
Police Kaka and Police Didi will also visit residential schools, shelter homes and training establishments to set up CCTV surveillance and other security measures and systems in order to effectively report issues faced by children. The school teachers, authorities and parents will also be made aware of provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Juvenile Justice Act. Police stations have also been directed to monitor security arrangements at each establishment, including CCTV coverage, entry and exit checks, identification and registration of visitors, checks on schools buses and rickshaws used for students’ transport etc.
